This invention relates to a method and apparatus for blending drinks, in particular, drinks made with a portion of liquid and a portion of ice, as is often prepared and served in restaurants, cocktail lounges, or the like. More particularly, this invention precisely controls the portions of the drink so as to provide repeated, consistent drinks.
Very popular beverages today are those commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cfrozenxe2x80x9d drinks whereby a portion of liquid, which often includes liquor, and a portion of ice are mixed in a blender to create an almost slush-like drink. In the past, the most typical manner to create such drinks required the bartender or other operator to put a quantity of liquor, flavored drink mix, ice and possibly even fruit in the pitcher of a blender, and then operate the blender until that drink is perceived to be adequately mixed. The drink is then transferred from the pitcher of the blender to a glass for consumption by the patron.
Such a procedure has many disadvantages. For example, this procedure requires the constant attention of the operator who, in the sometimes busy environment of a restaurant or cocktail lounge, could be giving his attention to making other drinks while the frozen drink is being prepared. Moreover, even the skilled bartender cannot, in this manner, always make drinks which are consistent in quantity and quality. That is, the operator is required to guess to the correct amount of liquid and ice to put into the blender, dependent on the number of drinks to be made, and if insufficient ingredients are blended, the patron""s glass will not be filled on the first try, and the operator will be required to blend additional liquid and ice. Or, as often is the case, the operator may blend too large a quantity of ingredients which, if not eventually used, is wasteful to the economic detriment of the establishment. Moreover, there is no way to assure that the quality of the drink is consistent from drink-to-drink. If patrons have enjoyed a good first drink, they expect that their second drink will be of the same consistency and flavor of their first drink, which cannot always happen when the operator is required to xe2x80x9ceyeballxe2x80x9d the amount of liquid relative to the amount of ice to be blended.
One proposed solution to at least some of the aforementioned problems is to provide a combined ice dispenser and blender whereby the functions of each are controlled by time. Such is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,528,824 and 4,681,030. In these devices, an attempt is made to control the amount of ice to be delivered to the blending cup by operating an ice shaver for a predetermined amount of time. Then, after a predetermined time delay, the blender operates for a pre-selected amount of time. However, repeatably consistent drinks cannot be made by such a device in that there is no correlation between the amount of liquid which is manually placed in the cup of the blender and the amount of ice to be delivered. Moreover, using time as the operative control parameter does not assure that the correct or precise quantity of ice has been added. For example, the ice machine might be almost empty, thereby not having a sufficient quantity of ice for the drink, yet this prior art device would run for a predetermined time and deliver an incorrect quantity of ice. Or, even if there was sufficient ice in the machine, it will not always be delivered at a uniform rate and might not even be delivered at all, as could happen if the ice delivering blades were operating in a dead air space created by an arching of the ice in the machine.
Thus, controlling the operation of a drink-making machine using time as the controlling parameter does not adequately solve the problems prevalent in the art.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus in the form of an ice shaver and blender for preparing drinks which creates a repeatably consistent quality drink.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus, as above, in which the precise desired amount of ice, by weight, is metered into the blender.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus, as above, in which the quantity of ice metered to the blender is dependent on the weight of the liquid in the blender.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus, as above, which creates drinks of a repeatably consistent quantity.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus, as above, which allows the drink maker to use his time efficiently.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus, as above, in which errors by the drink maker in creating a drink are reduced, if not eliminated.
These and other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, a method of making a liquid and ice drink, in accordance with the present invention, utilizes a blender and a source of ice and includes the steps of placing a quantity of liquid in the pitcher of the blender, and transferring ice from the ice source to the pitcher until a predetermined weight of ice is received by the pitcher.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the method of making a liquid and ice drink utilizing a blender and an ice dispenser includes the steps of weighing an empty pitcher of the blender, placing an arbitrary amount of liquid in the pitcher, selecting a desired liquid-to-ice ratio for the drink, starting the blender, weighing the pitcher with the liquid therein, determining the weight of the liquid by subtracting the weight of the empty pitcher from the weight of the pitcher with the liquid therein, initiating the transfer of the ice from the dispenser to the pitcher, terminating the transfer of ice when the determined weight of the ice matches the selected liquid-to-ice ratio, and stopping the blender.
Yet another method of making a liquid and ice drink, in accordance with the present invention, which utilizes a blender and an ice dispenser, includes the steps of placing a quantity of liquid in the pitcher of the blender, selecting the weight of ice to be added to the pitcher, weighing the pitcher and liquid to determine an initial weight, initiating the transfer of ice from the dispenser to the pitcher, weighing the pitcher with the liquid therein as the ice is being transferred to determine a current weight, subtracting the initial weight from the current weight to determine the weight of the ice, stopping the transfer of ice when the weight of the ice matches the selected weight, and operating the blender to mix the drink.
An apparatus made in accordance with the present invention for controlling the mixing of a drink includes a blender having a pitcher and an ice machine adapted to transfer ice to the pitcher. A weighing mechanism is provided to determine the weight of the transferred ice. The weighing mechanism initiates the stopping of the transfer of the ice to the pitcher when a predetermined weight of ice is in the pitcher.
A preferred exemplary apparatus for controlling the blending of drinks, and its method of operation, incorporating the concepts of the present invention, is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.